The Prodigy and The Captain
by Heliogenesis
Summary: Kestrel is a child whom had been removed from her family and homeland at a young age. She never liked the bustling city of Monte Lille and preferred to keep to herself and her studies. Well, until a certain captain took her under her wing.
1. Chapter 1: The Child

"Yes, I'm ready. Bring her in."

The voice that spoke was confident and firm, but not harsh. However, Kestrel still seemed very unsure about why she was being ushered into this room, and she particularly didn't want to know who the voice was coming from. It was the voice of authority, undoubtedly; the sound was already chilling the child to the bone.

Upon opening the door, Kestrel was greeted by a straight-faced woman wearing a Stormguard uniform. She recognized the white and red outfit, the people that tested her at school wore something similar. However, something was off. Yes, the color scheme was the same but..

It didn't take Kestrel very long to recognize the difference was a beret sitting delicately on the mystery woman's head. A war beret, to be exact. Kestrel immediately felt sick to her stomach. She knew she was standing in the presence of an army officer. _I'm only seven, what could I have done to anger the Stormguard? Am I in trouble? Are they going to send me back home?_ A thousand thoughts raced through her mind all at once, but she took a breath and tried to calm herself.

"Hello." The brown haired adult finally spoke, in Lilliaise. "I can speak other languages you know.." the young girl quietly commented, although her accent was prominent. "Oh yes, I'm very aware of that fact. I just thought it'd be more relaxing and calming for you to hear." Kestrel quickly noted that the woman also had an accent. "I know you're a quiet child, so let me do all the talking and let's get straight to the point, shall we?" The Stormguard officer pushed a small bowl of candy to the edge of her desk toward the child, inviting her to take some while she listened. It was the same candy from the testing.

"I'm Catherine, the captain of the Stormguard. A year ago you were brought to Monte Lille to continue your education, and we've been monitoring you. Simply put, you're a prodigy. You're a child but are easily doing work that students three years ahead of you are doing. I've specifically asked that you be brought to me personally for but one reason; I want you to start training to be in the Stormguard."

Kestrel slowly took in what was just said. She sat there quietly, eating a piece of candy while she thought on all the information. They had been watching her.. And taking notes on her academic performance. _They really think I'll be useful?_

As if to reassure the blonde from her silence, Catherine continued, "You excel in analytics and high process thinking, and your ability to quickly assess situations and react accordingly is what we need. If you start training now, you'll be one of the finest we've ever had."


	2. Chapter 2: The Bow

[[ Editors note. I've already posted up to this point on the fan lore area of the game's website, but I wanted to share it further and I'm going to extend it a lot hopefully, adding a lot more information and chapters to come. Maybe some cute fluff who knows. ]]

It had been a few years since Kestrel had agreed to Catherine's sudden invitation, and they had met up often, whenever time allowed them to. Even though Catherine would always quiz the blonde on how to respond in certain situations or ask about tactics, the young adult hadn't let Kestrel even touch a weapon yet, saying she was still too young. The other Stormguards seemed to be very amused by how protective their leader was being over this kid, and how much time the two spent together.

"Your ears keep getting longer the older you get. They've got to be at least a few inches now," Catherine teased playfully. Kestrel huffed quietly from across the room, looking through one of the many bookshelves. "Well you're just jealous you have normal ears.. And speaking of how old I'm getting-"  
"Yes, yes, I know what you're going to say. And I think it's time too. In fact, I wanted to take you to the armory today."

Once they made their way to the basement area, Catherine slowly opened the door to the largest room there. It creaked slightly, as if it was old. On the walls inside were rows upon rows of many different kinds of weapons. Spears, axes, maces, throwing knives, pocket knives, daggers, swords, shields.. Anything a person could think of, essentially. "Wow.."

"Choose wisely," was all Catherine said before the young brunette herself instinctively went over to the shields, picking them up, checking their weight, and then frowning because most of them were different from her own. Kestrel, however, passed the shields completely, skipped the swords, and paid no attention the spears. She went to projectiles. Throwing axes and knives were there, and she picked up a few, but ultimately decided against those. Kestrel decided to stop at the very end of the wall, where the bows were. There weren't many; not nearly as many as the other weapons.

"Why are there less bows than other weapons?"  
"Oh, not many people use them." Catherine's response carried from across the room.

Kestrel picked one from the wall. She used to be pretty good with a slingshot. _Bows are kinda similar right? Same concept?_ She shrugged and lifted the weapon, putting her fingers to string, and immediately as she did so, Kestrel got the same surprising shock as she did those many years ago. The girl let out a surprised gasp, watching a blue arrow form at her fingertips, placing itself perfectly on the string. She was so shocked she dropped the arrow that had formed, and it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"The Bow." Catherine's firm voice came suddenly. The Stormguard captain just nodded, walking over. She did not seem surprised at what had just occurred. "We all have something special." The brunette winked at the blonde quickly, almost so quickly it didn't happen. Kestrel put her fingers on the bowstring once more, feeling the magic surge through her fingers as the arrow appeared out of thin air and placed itself perfectly like it had before.

"The Bow." Kestrel agreed.


	3. Chapter 3: The Surprise

[[ Authors note, there is hardly any Vainglory fan fiction on here so if you guys have managed to find this I hope it is interesting. I also may do more with different characters, if enough people actually want it. ]]

Catherine whistled quietly, her shoes faintly clicking as she walked down the long corridor of the mansion-like building they used for all Stormguard business. Many offices were there, a dining hall, the armory, and even a small infirmary. It was a huge building really, and if anyone teased about Catherine's 'thunder thighs,' she always pointed back to the many flights of stairs she climbed each day. After all, her office was in one of the tallest parts of the establishment. However, Catherine still stubbornly refused to use the elevator. The brunette took out the keys to her office as she approached the room, but before she could even lift them to the doorknob, a voice called out nonchalantly.

"It's already open."

Catherine wanted to roll her eyes and bang her head against the door, but she also wanted to immediately smile, because that was most definitely the accent of the small elvish girl. She put the keys back into her pocket and tested the doorknob. True to her subordinate's word, the door was indeed unlocked. Upon walking inside and shutting the door behind her, (she made sure it was locked this time, no need for any other _unannounced guests,_ ) the first sight she saw was the blonde sitting on the ledge of an open window, legs swinging outside. It looked dangerous; well surely it had to be, they were at least 70 feet up. Catherine opened her mouth to scold the girl for multiple things: coming in without permission, or leaving the door completely unlocked, or for leaning precariously off a windowsill that was several stories up...

But she quickly shut her mouth without saying a word. To say the least, the elf looked completely and utterly relaxed sitting there. It was early morning and the sun was just rising, outlining the familiar figure in the window with an orange glow while a slight breeze blew in. It was a nice sight really, and Catherine couldn't be mad at the blonde. She sighed with amusement, before walking over to the window. "Can we close this before you give me a heart attack, please?" Kestrel pretended to think about it, before letting out a small laugh and exiting the windowsill, trading it for the solid ground of the office. The brunette closed the windows, locking them in place with a small click. "Thank you, you insufferable child."

The mentioned blonde let out a fake gasp. "You love spending time with me! Thus, I am obviously not _that_ insufferable. And, I'm not a child." She added at the end.

Catherine took a good look at Kestrel. Well, maybe she wasn't a child anymore. She had definitely grown out of some of her baby fat, her face was slim and her cheekbones were high and noticeable now. Her nose was sharp and her ambitious eyes were bright. Even though the blonde was still short, she wasn't short in a child-like sense.. She was just small naturally. Perhaps Catherine had to accept the person standing in front of her was indeed was older now.

"Time passes so quickly," the brunette laughed openly. "I remember when you first came in and you seemed so scared of me. Now look at us."

"Like two peas in a pod." Kestrel agreed with a grin, giving a playful poke to Catherine's arm. The brunette soon stopped laughing, although she still had the remnants of a smile on her face, and sighed.

"Seriously, I have to get to work though," the woman said, and started to make her way to her desk- which had a stack of paperwork already waiting. The captain sat down, bringing the papers to her attention, although she quickly realized the majority was already filled out. She turned to Kestrel whose mischievous red eyes were practically shining. "I filled in what I could.. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what needs to go where, I did my research. You need a day off. C'mon, let's go for a day on the town."

"So _that's_ why you were in here? You have to have been here all morning to finish that work.."

"Don't sweat it. I love work, nothing better than sitting at your desk and smelling fresh, warm paper and pencil shavings."

Catherine stared, surprised at the woman in front of her. The look of pure shock was enough to make all of Kestrel's work worthwhile apparently, as she chuckled. "I've never seen you so dumbfounded." This was the best part about being close with Catherine. She showed emotions like a normal human, unlike the stoic brick wall she was forced to be while she was in command of her army.

"A day on the town it is."


	4. Chapter 4: The Touch

Sure enough, with no work needing to be finished, the girls went to the city. The pair gladly left the office building far behind and the day off was rather nice, really. However, after the two had been out for awhile, both were thinking it was time to take a break from the day's activity. After exploring the many shops in the bustling city, Catherine decided to bring them to a small coffee café that she frequented, claiming it was the perfect spot to unwind.

Ever since they were first seated, the Stormguard women sat quietly; both were unbothered with the lack of conversation, feeling comfortable just sitting in each other's presence. Catherine was lounging with a book they had picked up from a bookstore that morning, and a cup of tea which she had ordered from the café. Across the table, Kestrel had her cheek resting against the palm of her hand, eyes closed. The brunette peeked above the top of the book she had been interested in, and smiled at the blonde's relaxed state. After bending down the corner of the page to bookmark where she was, the captain closed the literature and set it on the table. After deciding to stir her still-hot tea for a few seconds, Catherine absentmindedly reached over and gently pushed the bangs out of her friend's face, her hand slowing as it barely brushed against a soft cheek in the process. No one in the establishment seemed to notice the caring gesture, not even Kestrel herself, until she slowly opened her eyes and glanced up in reaction. Dark ruby red met with shimmering icy blue for a long second. And then another second.. and then another. They held their gazes evenly, neither girl feeling the need to look away, and before long it seemed like they had been staring at each other for years. Their looks weren't threatening or scary, just observant of each other, and maybe even a little bit of curiosity was hidden in there.

 _Why did I just do that? Because she was right in front of me, and so.. Tranquil? All I know was that I had the urge to reach over. An itching in my muscles, I just needed to satisfy it. It was just a simple motion, but at least it was rewarding. Goodness, look at her.. How long has she been staring at me?_

After gazing a moment longer in fascination, Kestrel tiredly closed her eyes again, ending the impromptu staring contest. And just like that, the little spark they shared was over. It left both wondering and a little confused, but also happy. Alas, they continued as if nothing had happened, and no words were spoken about it. The rest of the break went smoothly. Catherine finished her drink and then they readied to leave. The younger of the two was obviously starting to feel the effects of getting up so early this morning, and both were starting to dislike how crowded and loud the city was getting, so they decided to go their separate ways shortly afterwards.

"Thanks for coming with me today." Kestrel breathed into Catherine's ear as she gave the woman an unexpected parting hug. What was even more unexpected was the way her hand trailed down her leader's arm as they let go of the hug, finding her way into the brunette's hand and rubbing the back of it with her thumb for a moment. The encounter earlier that evening seemed to confirm that close touches were acceptable, so the archer tested it and took up the bold opportunity, if only for a moment. "I'll see you at training tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5: The Discovery

"Shoot me."

"No chance in hell!"

Kestrel stood outside, with her bow by her side, and stared at Catherine. The woman had just dropped her shield completely, while saying the idiotic words; _shoot me._

"I can understand wanting some paid vacation time, but I'm not about to shoot you when you don't even have your Arcshield. That's kind of what protects you?"

A jovial laugh came from the brunette across the open field as she thought about that sentence. She shrugged for a dramatic effect of sorts, while standing open and vulnerable, still awaiting an arrow in her direction. Kestrel wanted to cringe, as she processed and realized that she honestly had to shoot at her friend. The woman had to have something up her sleeve, but the blonde didn't know what it was, which made her uncomfortable. She lifted the bow frame, the string and arrow forming right into her palm, sliding between her fingers. The blue energy crackled quietly, until she closed her eyes and let go. The force of the energy slicing through the air let out a sharp distinct whistle, although this time a new sound was accompanying it.

It was also the sound of energy. A much larger source, it was crackling and popping, vibrating as the air blew against it. Kestrel opened her eyes quickly, seeing a sort of forcefield around her teacher. It was nearly the same as the archer's energy, and if she hadn't been so fascinated by the fact that Catherine could also control the same odd blue substance that she herself could, the younger girl would have realized the arrow was nowhere to be seen. Well, until it was too late. Kestrel yelled out in pain as she felt energy seemingly pierce through her. The woman had already fallen to the ground at this point, her knees catching her as she doubled over. Kneeling there for a moment, she quietly thought about how she had discovered something new about the person she thought she knew nearly everything about. Kestrel heard the energy stop, and grass rustling as footsteps approached.

"That's only a small fraction of what your arrows actually feel like. Imagine what you do to other people; your energy is strong. And knowing your damage output is just lesson one. Lesson two is, everyone has special abilites. Sometimes you will know and expect some, and sometimes you will have no clue what is coming your way. They can and will come out of nowhere, when the time is right; and sometimes when it is too late to avoid."

How can someone who was so gentle yesterday be so powerful today? Kestrel frowned, holding the area of her torso that burned. Catherine didn't seem to mind the fact the her partner was on the ground in pain, or the fact that she had mainly caused it. The brunette knew this was going to happen the entire time, ever since the beginning of the training session, and the elvish girl recognized that.

"Ah, we can be finished for today if you wish. We've accomplished plenty."

Kestrel did wish for the spar to be over; she was still in pain, and although it was fading quickly her body still ached quite a bit. But she knew she couldn't just stop because of one set back. If anything, she wanted to fight more, to become accustomed to this newly discovered addition! It made the wheels turn in her mind, all sorts of hypotheses and reasoning about how it was possible, what caused it, and how to counter it. How to break it from the inside out, mess with the mechanics. Tactics.

Catherine sighed and began to kneel down next to the girl, but as she did so, the woman vanished into thin air, with no sign of her being there except for a fading blue outline of a body. The brunette sighed, thinking that her student reacted that way out of instinct. Catherine knew that the blonde would camouflage to get out of rough situations, especially when she was injured. The older woman shook her head and stood up, starting the walk back to retrieve her Arcshield, which was still laying across the open meadow where she had left it. As soon as she had stepped within reaching distance of her weapon, however, everything exploded.

Catherine coughed as she was surrounded by smoke, her vision so obscured that she couldn't move for a few seconds. She blindly reached for her shield and held it up defensively, knowing their fight wasn't over just yet. She had just stepped into Kestrel's trap, filled with small misty particles that had detonated from some faraway shot arrow. Thankfully the projectile itself had missed the brunette, but the explosion caused by it was plenty to deal with by itself. The captain felt a body press faintly against her, and Kestrel's voice next to her ear.

"Come on. You should know I don't give in that easily."

The pair trained until the sun went down, almost dancing as they narrowly dodged each other's blows. Sometimes they would sneak in hits, but between Kestrel's flawless camouflage and Catherine's shields, they seemed to be evenly matched. Out here, alone, they could do whatever they wanted. They were free to laugh and joke, without being under the judging eyes of everyone who expected the Stormguard to be perfect protectors. They could be normal people, smiling through the perfect flow of what had quickly turned into a playful battle after a few well said taunts and much teasing. Needless to say, after the serious training was out of the way, the rest of the night was just perfect.


	6. Chapter 6: The Bird and The Flower

[[ Hm, let's see where this goes. Wanted to introduce a new character, wink, and add more tension for upcoming chapters. ]]

"Hey.. little birdy?"

"The signal was supposed to be a whistle, dork." Kestrel sat at the base of a large tree, leaning against the trunk. Blue wisps of energy came off of her as she removed her camouflage and made herself visible to the other person.

"It still worked, didn't it?" The new arrival replied cheekily, immediately making her way to sit next to the blonde. She plopped her back against the tree dramatically, before slowly letting herself slide down into a sitting position next to the first girl. The archer chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, I suppose it did work. You know, I was starting to worry you'd never show up. Not that I think you'd break your promise, just got a little worried about what might have happened to my flower." Kestrel threw a wink to the girl beside her, who replied by burying her head against the blonde's shoulder to hide her face.

"Shut up, Kes." The words were mumbled through fabric and skin, but the older girl still understood them and she replied with another laugh, bringing one arm around the new girl's waist and bringing her closer.

"I missed you Daisy. It's been too long."

Daisy giggled quietly, but then responded earnestly, "I missed you too. Just wish we had more opportunities to see each other, outside of just passing in the halls of the command building. Something relaxing, like this." The blonde made a small sound of agreement and nodded, enjoying the moment of being close with her old friend. The redhead was the only person that Kestrel could make decent connections with; the swordswoman was close to her age, being only a year younger, and they shared many of the same qualities and hobbies. The rest of the Stormguard, well, they were okay, but for the most part they were older or just simply didn't care for being adventurous. And sure, Daisy was a little timid and unsure, but Kestrel always took the extra time to make her feel safe and look out for her. Even when they were kids and trained together, the archer would take it easy on the girl, even though it usually meant getting more beat up in the end. She came out of training everyday still positive that it was worth it.

And so, the friends sat there. The woodsy area was empty, with no other people in sight, and the animals were chirping with small noises while the bugs buzzed quietly. The Flower and the Bird were surrounded by nature, alone for the first time in ages. Kestrel sighed and the sound made her suddenly realize that Daisy was being almost too quiet, and she had gotten so relaxed so quickly that the blonde was wondering if the swordswoman may have already fallen asleep on her. It seems as if the redhead was thinking the same about the archer herself, though, because as soon as Kestrel turned her head to check on the other, Daisy had also turned her head to look up at the blonde in the same instant. Their noses bumped, and they blinked at each other a few times in confusion, then understanding, and then laughter followed.

"Well, that was a little close," Daisy chuckled quietly.

"I can always show you what's it like to be closer," Kestrel said jokingly, in what she thought was imitating a sly voice. The blonde had always liked to mess around, flirting with the younger girl, for she was confident that Daisy had always favored her. The two had practically grown up together, and it seemed only natural that as they grew older they would start to develop different feelings. No one else around them had seemed to notice, but they noticed it between themselves, and the tension and curiosity had turned into cute comments, flirting, and casual touches over the years. Neither girl ever complained about or rejected the other's flirting games, but neither had ever turned it into anything more, either. This sometimes confused them and left them wondering exactly where their friendship stood, though they would never say anything directly.

But why not figure out? Kestrel was feeling very confident; the girl was leaning against her trustingly, she was letting the archer's arm wrap around her waist without complaint, and she had the traces of a blush on her face. These had to be positive signs, right? But where to start?

"..Daisy?" The swordswoman lifted her head from her friend's shoulder slightly, indicating that she was indeed listening. However, no other words came. Kestrel still wasn't really positive of what she had wanted to communicate, wasn't sure of what to say, but the more she thought about everything the more worked up she got.

The blonde reached up with her free hand and cusped it around the younger girl's cheek, turning the other's face towards her again and pressing their foreheads together, noses slightly caressing against each other, but this time she kept their faces painfully close. She heard an small gasp come from Daisy, and rightfully so. Kestrel felt a sick, excited twisting in her stomach and her blood pounded loudly in her ears, but she didn't make dare make another move, not yet. Her breath was brushing along the other's lips as their faces were dangerously close, oh so close. She wanted to wait for some signal, for something to let her know how the other felt about this, but nothing came. So, she closed her eyes and hesitantly reached forward slightly, their lips barely touching, gently, innocently. The redhead didn't seem to know exactly what to do at first, but a small sound of happiness came from her throat. The kiss was surprisingly sweet and slow, not full of hunger, but of uncertainty. After a few moments, Kestrel pulled back slightly, leaving their foreheads still resting on each others. She looked at Daisy level in the eyes for a reaction, but only got the same gaze back, and eventually a famous giggle came from the redhead. And then, the blonde started laughing too. Neither had any clue what they were laughing about; mayhaps it was nervousness, or relief, or both.

"You are _so_ impulsive." Daisy said in a mock stern voice, even though a smile was on her face.

"Hey, you don't seem to mind this flaw of mine right now." Kestrel played along, giving a smirk that went perfectly with her attitude.

"I wasn't expecting even you to do that out of the blue, so it was unexpected. But it was nice. I mean, not nice, maybe nice is a weird word for something like that. Good. It was good? Uhm. It was-"

"Shhh. Don't get yourself all in a mess. I know how you can be. And anyways, I understand what you're trying to say." The archer replied earnestly with no jokes this time, the reason probably being upon seeing how flustered the other girl was.

"Please tell me how can I not be a mess right now, Kes. You caressed my face and kissed me in the cutest little way imaginable. And now, I am even more curious. I want to know what love is like, it's a weird thing, isn't it? It's like not letting a man drink water for a week then giving him only a single sip. He will want more."

Kestrel processed this for a second before showing traces of a faint blush, and then nodding while passion and understanding gleamed in her eyes. She realized they both were simply love struck hormone controlled teenagers. Of course they both wanted to know what things were like; and although they say curiosity kills the cat, maybe it's a good thing the cat is dead, for it will chase the Bird and no doubt crush the Flowers.

"Then lead us, Daisy, and don't be afraid to go as far as you want, I won't mind. I want to learn too. I was built for learning." Kestrel gave a reassuring smile, before both continued into their woodland rendezvous.


End file.
